#Payments101 | 8-Digit BINs are coming in April 2022.
What is an 8-digit BIN?
WHAT IS A BIN?
Your customers' PAN, or personal account number (sometimes known as the card number or the 'long number on the front,') is usually 16 digits long on their payment card. Some cards have fewer numbers, while others have PANs as long as 19. Regardless, every payment card has a card number, which isn't merely a series of digits. Currently, the first six digits of the PAN are made up of the Bank Identification Number (BIN).
The BIN is a code found in the PAN that identifies a number of items, including the card's issuing bank and brand (e.g., Mastercard starts with 5, Visa with a 4, AMEX with a 3, and so on).
The BIN also specifies the card's type of product, such as credit card, debit card, prepaid card, corporate, type of organization, and so on, as well as the card issuer's geographic region.
When your consumers shop at your store, your terminal or integrated point of sale instantly registers the type of card being provided because your card processor (acquirer) always has current BINs accessible that are updated daily.
Note: The BIN is also known in the industry as an Issuer Identification Number (IIN).
WHY ARE BINS CHANGING FROM 6 DIGITS TO 8?
The industry has effectively run out of BIN ranges up to six digits, hence the number needs to be extended to allow card issuers to access more ranges.
The major card schemes, such as Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and others, assign a set of BINs to each card issuer. However, because there are so many payment cards currently, the available ranges are running out, thus the International Standards Organization (ISO), which is in charge of card payment standards, has published recommendations and aims to implement a new standard in 2022 that will lengthen card BINs to eight digits. This revision was announced by the ISO in 2015, and the new standard (ISO/IEC 7812-1) will be implemented in April.
IS THE CHANGE MANDATORY FROM APRIL 2022?
Card issuers will be able to expand their current 6-digit BIN ranges to cards with an 8-digit BIN range under the new standard, which will take effect in April 2022.
From April 2022, card issuers are not required to begin issuing cards with an 8-digit BIN. Many card issuers, in fact, still have a sizable 6-digit BIN range at their disposal. It may take five, six, or even more years for a card issuer to be required to issue cards with an 8-digit BIN.
However, beginning in April 2022, all new goods will have the 8-digit BIN, and International Card Schemes will only issue 8-digit BIN ranges (Note: Visa, Discover, and Mastercard announced their issuance before and after April 2022, respectively). Other card schemes have yet to reveal their release dates).
At the same time, both 6-digit and 8-digit BINs will be supported. You should work with your acquirer to figure out the best strategy to accept both BIN lengths.
WHAT IS THE IMPACT OF THE CHANGE?
As a merchant, you should speak with your card acquirer about the implications of the move for you and your company. Consider the following:
- The figures you print on customer receipts. That number is now shortened, showing only the 6-digit BIN and the final four digits of the PAN. This includes card numbers that are saved or utilized for transaction routing. To accommodate 8-Digit BINs, you'll need to update your software. Ascertain that your acquirer can assist you in displaying only the important digits from the BIN portion of the card number.
- Your point-of-sale (POS) hardware and software may need to be updated.
- Transaction routing and refund processing applications - Chargeback handling
- Fraud management
- Handling and accepting payment cards with 6-digit and 8-digit BINs in general. Cards with 8-digit BINs must be supported by older POS equipment.
- Your security technologies, such as those that detect specific data, may need to be updated in order to remain effective.
ARE CARD NUMBERS GOING TO BE LONGER NOW?
No, the 8-digit BIN will be included in existing card numbers, thus cards with 16-digit PANs, for example, will retain their 16-digit card numbers.
WILL MY FEES CHANGE WHEN ACCEPTING CARDS WITH AN 8-DIGIT BIN?
This is a question for your acquirer or card processor. Merchant incentives are provided by card systems such as Visa and Mastercard in the form of varied rates to encourage merchants to accept cards having an 8-digit BIN.
HOW TO PREPARE FOR ACCEPTING THE NEW CARDS?
Consult your acquirer/card processor for more information. Examine your procedures. Depending on your industry, you may require new methods for identifying the various BINs. Gambling merchants, for example, who are unable to accept cards from specific countries must upgrade their procedures and systems to guarantee that they can read both 6- and 8-digit BINs in order to determine the card-issuing country. The information you can get from BINs varies depending on the card issuer.
As a merchant, you want to make sure you're blocking the right cards while also making sure you're not blocking cards you should be taking.
If you don't want to accept customer cards from outside your country, you'll need to make sure your POS system can read the correct BINs.
WILL THE CHANGE TO 8-DIGIT BINS IMPACT ON MY COMPLIANCE WITH PCI DSS?
A few months ago, the PCI regulations were amended to reflect the change. The number of digits that must be eliminated while storing card data has not changed according to the PCI DSS. More information is accessible on the PCI DSS FAQ page, which can be found at the bottom of this article.
DO THE NEW BINS IMPACT ON 3D SECURE USE?
3DS 1.0 does not accept 8-digit BINs. You must meet at least EMV 3DS criteria to allow customers with new 8-digit BINs on their cards to use their cards effectively in your stores.
WILL THE BIN CHANGE FOR ACQUIRERS TOO?
An acquirer reference number (ARN) is generated after a card payment transaction is completed. This is a 23-digit number with a check digit at the beginning, followed by the BIN, which identifies the acquiring bank/processor. This BIN will not change, although card schemes are considering renaming this 6-digit number in the future to minimize confusion.
For your information, here are some other resources: